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Game Room: The PS4 Cometh

Ready for another gaming system? Sony is banking on it with the announcement of the next PlayStation -- the PS4 -- set to launch sometime during the 2013 Holiday Season.

Sony hasn’t revealed what the PS4 will look like, but it will pack familiar features like Blu Ray and DVD playback, HDMI and digital optical output as well as Bluetooth and Ethernet connectivity.

The PS4 will not be backwards compatible with PS3 games (disc based or digital), but Sony hasn’t ruled out an emulation solution down the road. The current PS3 generation of DualShock controllers also won’t work with the PS4, but the unit will ship with a new version of the DualShock sporting a share button, touch pad, motion sensing, headphone jack, vibration and a built-in speaker. The share functionality will include the ability to easily live share your gameplay using UStream.

Sony

Sony plans to release a companion PlayStation app for the iPad, iPhone and Android featuring second screen functionality. That seems less interesting than the announcement that PS4 games will run on the PS Vita using Remote Play. That news might stimulate Vita sales or permanently bury them.

The store front for the PS4 will offer digital downloads and free demos for all games. Games are expected to range in price from $.99 to $60. Hopefully, digital prices will be lower than physical media to make it a more viable option.

The PS4 will have the ability to output 4K resolution for videos and photos, but will not support games at that resolution. Very few people have 4K sets today, and it’s not hard to imagine a PS5 landing if consumer adoption for 4K gets rolling.

The PS4 will be 3D capable, but Sony has said it’s not a point of emphasis. Hallelujah.

We all want to know what the next generation console games will look like. Below are trailers for some of the more interesting games announced.